Who:
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Investigative Operations Bureau
-Robbery/Homicide Unit
Support Services Bureau
-AFIS Division

Dalton Police Department – Dalton, Georgia
Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office – Dalton, Georgia

Joseph Robert Carter
DOB: 11/15/1970
Address: 812 Thornton Place, Dalton, Georgia
Charges: Two counts of Robbery

What:
Detectives have arrested a suspect who committed multiple bank robberies from 2016.

When: 
The first robbery occurred at approximately 3:10 pm, on Friday, June 24, 2016.

The second robbery occurred at approximately 3:30 pm, on Friday, September 9, 2016.

The suspect was arrested at approximately 1:30 pm, on Thursday, September 6, 2018, in Dalton, Georgia.

Where:
The robberies occurred at the Jefferson Bank of Florida, located at 35320 U.S. Highway 19 North, in Palm Harbor.

How/Why:
According to detectives, an unidentified suspect robbed the Jefferson Bank of Florida, located at 35320 U.S. Highway 19 North, in Palm Harbor, at approximately 3:10 pm on Friday, June 24, 2016 and a second time at approximately 3:30 pm, on Friday, September 9, 2016.

Once inside the bank, the suspect displayed a handgun and demanded cash. The suspect was given an undisclosed amount of cash in both incidents and fled from the bank.

The suspect was described as a white male, approximately 40 to 50-years-old, 5’10” to 5’11” tall, heavy build, 230 lbs. to 240 lbs., wearing a surgeons mask, white t-shirt, blue jeans, and a blue colored Tampa Bay Rays ball cap.

Latent prints were recovered in both robberies, and were submitted through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), but no identifications were made. The case remained inactive during this time.  

On August 26, 2018, 47-year-old Joseph Robert Carter was arrested by the Dalton Police Department in Georgia for Operating a Vehicle Without a Valid License.

On September 4, 2018, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, AFIS Division, received a match from the fingerprints collected from the bank robbery on June 24, 2016. Detectives were able to confirm Carter, as being the same person who robbed Jefferson Bank of Florida on June 24, 2016 and September 9, 2016.

Carter has no other known criminal history, which delayed fingerprint identification.

Detectives say Carter has been living in Dalton, Georgia since December 2016.

Detectives obtained an arrest warrant, and on September 6, 2018, Carter was taken into custody by the Dalton Police Department. Carter was interviewed by Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office detectives, and admitted to committing the robberies because of a drug habit.

Carter is currently being held in the Whitfield County Detention Center in Dalton, Georgia, where he will await extradition to the Pinellas County Jail.

The investigation continues.

Booking photo of Carter from Whitfield County SO